Repetition

£9.99

We join the young Austrian teenager Filib Kobal’s journey from his home in Carinthia to Slovenia on the trail of his older brother Gregor, whom he never knew. He is armed only with two of Gregor’s books: a copy book from agricultural school, and a Slovenian-German dictionary, in which Gregor has marked certain words. To piece together an image of his brother, he pours over Gregor’s notebook and marked dictionary. In the latter, he discovers new words which translate into timeless images of the earth and its people. Filip finds he can associate himself with this discovery. The resulting investigation of the laws of language and naming becomes a transformative investigation of himself and the world around him.

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Description

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE

Repetition made a great and, as I have since learned, lasting impression on me’ W. G. Sebald

Filip Kobal, an Austrian teenager, is on the trail of his missing older brother Gregor, who he never knew. All he has is two of Gregor’s books: a school copy book, and a dictionary in which certain words have been marked. As he enters Slovenia on his journey, Filip discovers something else entirely: the transformative power of language to describe the world, and the unnerving joy of being an outsider in a strange land.

‘One of the most moving evocations I have ever read of what it means to be alive, to walk upon this earth’ Gabriel Josipovici

Translated by Ralph Manheim

Additional information

Weight 0.168 kg
Dimensions 19.8 × 12.9 × 1.3 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

224

Language

English

Edition

|Reprint

Dewey

833.914 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K